It's a new month and time for a new theme. To escape the rut of
mathematical interest only, I have decided to make May the month
of images with artistic value. And there is no formula I know
of that creates images more artistic than those created by the
workhorse MandAutoCritInZ.

To lead off the month, we check the parent fractal that results
when Z^(2.01) is subtracted from Z^2 and straight C is added on
each iteration. Intuition says that this fractal will be little
more than an oversized Mandelbrot set. Well, the fractal is
oversized sure enough. A bailout radius of 1100 was neded to
fit it all in, but the fractal is far from an everyday
Mandelbrot set.

This parent fractal actually resembles a Z^(2.5)+C Mandeloid far
more than it resembles the classic M-set. In addition, it is
rotated 180 degrees so that the side normally on the east lies
on the west. Its East Valley has split into two well-defined
valleys, with the area between filled with many discontinuities
that call for exploration. Its main period-2 bud has sprouted
two large sub-buds, each growing its own infinitely divided main
spike. Today's image is located in the area of discontinuities
between the two large sub-buds.

The name "Testing 1-2-3" is what a sound man traditionally says
to test the levels of his sound system. It came about when I
saw myself setting up for an actual entire month of worthwhile
fractals. The rating of a 7 that I gave today's image is not
particularly outstanding, but I'm still not totally back into
artistic mode. The ratings will (hopefully) increase as the
month progresses.

The calculation time of 1-2/3 minutes is a fair price for a
fractal with a rating of a 7. And the web sites are always
there for those who would rather miss the fun of calculation.

Today brought a mix of clouds and sun to Fractal Central. The
pleasant temperature of 77F 25C made the periods of clouds seem
much more pleasant than they might have been. The fractal cat
duo was very active, chasing each other up and down the hallway
until Nicholas finally ran out of energy.

The humans, who never chase each other up and down the hallway,
had a more restful day doing routine things. The next FOTD will
be posted soon. (I'll no longer mention 24 hours, since the
time between postings is irregular, and has rarely if ever been
exactly 24 hours.) Until next time, take care, and it looks
like it might be fractals all the way down.